Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Sweet Potato Biscuits



For my Junior League Board holiday party last week, I brought mini sweet potato biscuits with this roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head bacon jam.  Yes, I said bacon.  That recipe comes tomorrow though. 

Today, sweet potato biscuits.  If you don't eat gluten free, just use regular AP flour.  I use Better Batter GF flour though.  Where I went wrong is that I never thought to check the expiration date at the bottom of my baking powder.  Did you know that stuff even had an expiration date?  Well I guess I don't use it all that often because mine expired FOUR years ago.  Oh the shame.  So the result was that nothing really rose up fluffy.  Combine that with GF flours that don't rise either and mine were rather dense.  But everyone ate multiple, much to my surprise.  So it wasn't just me who liked them.

The moral of the story is to check the expiration dates of all your pantry foods.  Especially things you don't use all that often that sit in the back of the cupboard.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients:
See here.

I used this gal's awesome posted recipe.  But I did a few things different so you can go there to find the recipe and if you are interested, read here for my changes.

Directions:
Again, see above link.

* I used Better Batter gluten free flour blend.  Do not use a baking mix (such as Pamela's)- that's for making pancakes.  Use a flour.  AP, Better Batter or whateveryouhaveonhand.

* I didn't use a ricer for my potatoes.  Instead I just dumped them in the food processor.  They need to be very mushy for this to work- not mostly cooked- but fully cooked and soft. 

* I also prepared about five times as much sweet potato mash as called for.  Because I doubled the recipe.  More on that in a minute.  Then I froze enough potato mash for a double batch later (or for a dinner).  And ate the rest for lunch with some butter and cinnamon.  Mmmm good!

* I did everything in my food processor.  This may or may not have contributed to the lack of rise I experienced too.  But since it was already out and dirty, I figured why mess up yet another bowl.  That's just how I roll and you should expect it by now.

* I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to get that butter to chill up a bit.  I rolled the dough out in small batches.

* I wanted mini biscuits and didn't have a mini cutter.  So I took an unused plastic liquid medicine measuring cup- you know the things that come on top of Nyquil that you never use.  I cut up the bottom to make myself a mini biscuit cutter.  Worked like a charm.  Necessity is the mother of all invention, you know!

* Before baking, I melted a little butter and maple syrup in the microwave for 40 seconds.  Then brushed the tops of each little baby biscuit with the mixture.  As My Martha would say, it's a good thing!

* Serve warm.  If you have to transport them to a party, pop them in the microwave for a minute before serving.  And serve with the bacon jam I will discuss tomorrow.  Because it's amazingly delish!



* I made a double recipe.  But instead of baking, I lined the biscuits all up on a baking sheet and popped that in the freezer.  Once frozen, I tossed them in a big zip top baggie.  I figured if I was taking the time to make it once, I might as well get several uses out of my efforts.  Now I have a ready to bake appy or side to a holiday meal.


Monday, December 5, 2011

Fat Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free, and Dairy Free Cupcakes



When shared with your favorite toddler, trust me, they taste ah-maz-ing. 

I won't lie.  It was one of those projects that I thought would be quick and ended up taking about a dozen hours.  True story.  I did not use a pattern and sewed it all by hand.  Nothing was complicated.  At all.  But holy heck was this a time sucking project.  And I swore up and down that I would never attempt a felt food project again.

Seeing the fun that my Godson had playing with them though...  Makes it all so worth it. 




Next up I want to make sushi.  Because like most things in life, as time passes, so does the painful memory.  And I've convinced myself 46 other projects are a life necessity.


The pink and green with a lemon is my favorite. 

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Waste Not, Want Not



Instead of a list of excuses why I've been absent from blogville, I'm just jumping back in with an easy little post.  I have missed y'all, though!

Ever have leftover whipped cream after holidays and family gatherings?  I do every year and end up just throwing it away.  Until this year.

Now I know that whipped cream is not a big deal.  Or it's not to me anyway.  But it is really nice to top a hot cup of cocoa or even coffee (If you've never tried it, you must!  So decadent) in the long cold winter months.  So I hate to throw away something that I might really enjoy in the coming weeks.

So after I was done using the vanilla bean whipped cream on apple pie, I re-whipped it to get it nice and stiff again.  Then scooped it into a zip top sandwich baggie and cut off a corner.  I piped little dollops onto a cookie sheet pan and popped it into the freezer for an hour or two.  Once frozen, I tossed the little frozen whipped cream puffs into another zip top baggie and back into the freezer.

I won't use these to top pie or berries as it will lose some of it's umph once defrosted.  But instead, I plan to take out a little whipped cream puff now and then to top cocoa or coffee.  Sounds like a good treat after spending an hour shoveling my car out of the snow!